1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to voice interfaces for computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus that facilitates globalizing voice applications.
2. Related Art
Globalization of software applications is emerging as a business necessity in today's increasingly interconnected marketplace. This interconnectedness, coupled with a soft economy, provides a valuable opportunity for companies that can efficiently and effectively provide their software to the largest audience. Far too often, globalization is an afterthought in the application development cycle—composed of ad hoc processes and frameworks grafted onto the final stages of the implementation process. Companies that undertake a globalization effort in this ad hoc fashion are likely to rewrite their applications for each language, or worse, fail to ship software in multiple languages altogether.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the speech technology world. The unique challenges posed by voice application development are daunting even for single-language development. Adding multiple languages to the mix and trying to maintain the ideal of a single code base and simultaneous shipment for all languages only makes the task harder. A variety of methods and processes exist to facilitate globalization of screen-based applications, but unfortunately, these methods and processes fall short (on their own) to address the needs of voice applications developers.
Hence, what is needed is a completely new voice globalization framework to help mitigate the complexity associated with these tasks.